Downloads removed from support page

[Superclark715]

Can we get an official answer regarding all historical downloads being removed from the support page? Is this part of the unlock tool being removed and they will supposedly get put back up at some point (not that I believe it will go back up at this point). 

Unlocked users can't get OTA updates so how are we supposed to update devices if all downloads are gone? This absolutely stops me from buying a 10

[Falcon_ASUS]

@Superclark715 
We would like to inform you that we no longer provide previous firmware versions or downgraded software packages on ASUS official website. This is to ensure that the security updates on your phone remain up-to-date with the latest firmware versions. We appreciate your understanding and patience. If you have any question or need assistance, please feel free to visit our service center or call the service hot line, we will do our best to provide help for your questions. 

If you have a system upgrade requirement, we recommend visiting our service center. You can find service center locations at the following link: https://www.asus.com/support/service-center-location. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Note: there may be a diagnostic fee for repair services.

[Superclark715]

Oh good, I will just spend $800 in airfare and hotel rooms to fly out to a service center to be able to update my phone to the latest version.

How does removing downloads help keep phones up to date with the latest security updates? I now can no longer ever get a security update again. 

Surely you realize how wrong and stupid that is? 

Thank you very much for confirming. I will never buy an Asus again, I guess I will switch over to Motorola or pixel for still supporting their devices. 

[theboys]

The reasons I bought my ZenFone 8 were simple. A headphone jack, good specs, and most importantly, an unlockable bootloader to prevent it from becoming complete e-waste at EoL.

But you never were going to reupload that bootloader tool, were you. You were going to wait out the clock on the ZenFone 8 until it was "out of support" with unfulfilled promises. Maybe you'll bring it back for the ZenFone 10, but that doesn't matter. Removing the firmware image downloads, even the 100% most current one, has proven where you truly stand.

By doing so, you have lost yourself another customer. Not only will I never buy an ASUS phone again, I will never buy an ASUS product again. And I will do everything in my power to ensure ASUS servers, workstations, and IoT solutions are never considered at any company I ever work at.

Congratulations, ASUS. I hope whatever internal/external mandate that led us here was worth the damage.